Lucknow,

02 July (HS): Mayawati, head of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), warned on Wednesday

that the Uttar Pradesh government's plan to combine or consolidate elementary

schools under the Basic Education Council will disproportionately hurt poor and

marginalised children. In a post on X, Mayawati described the judgment as

discriminatory, needless, and blatantly anti-poor at first appearance, adding

that it will deny crores of economically disadvantaged children access to

inexpensive education close to their homes.

She

wrote, The decision made by the Basic Shiksha Parishad, Uttar Pradesh,

under the guise of school merging/consolidation, to close a large number of

primary schools is not in the best interests of poor children, and

requested that the decision be reversed immediately. If

not, Mayawati vowed her party will withdraw it the next time it comes to power.

The

former UP chief minister expressed hope that the government will review the

measure, taking into account the greater objectives of public education and

social justice. According to reports, the Yogi Adityanath government has

planned to consolidate schools in order to rationalize educational resources

and handle concerns such as low enrollment, teacher shortages, and

infrastructure duplication. According to authorities, the action is intended to

integrate tiny and under-enrolled schools with adjacent institutions. According

to an official, the state has over 1.40 lakh government basic and upper

elementary schools, with 29,000 having 50 or less children. These schools

employ approximately 89,000 teachers.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi